2019 Volkswagen Golf S

45-years after first showing up in the U.S…. the 2019 Volkswagen Golf further evolves efficient German style driving. 

This 7-th gen Golf was recently redesigned. Now more changes come to the powertrain. The 1-point-8 liter inline turbo-4 is replaced with the re-engineered 1.4-liter turbo found in the all-new Jetta. Horsepower drops by 23 to 147. But it’s hauling 90-fewer pounds… thanks to swapping out the cast iron engine block with aluminum alloy. 

Despite the dip in displacement, Volkswagen’s sporty hatch still delivers total driving fun better than most.  Naturally we chose to manually shift through the 6-gears… with one more than before. The eight-speed automatic adds 2. This lighter front driver still does a great job of handling the curves. The new powertrain yields better use of fuel too… wringing out as much as 32-miles per gallon combined. 

There’s also added safety. Even the base S trim now comes with Forward Collision Warning and Autonomous Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Monitoring.

The Volkswagen Golf has always been one of the most fun cars you can buy for the money. For 2019 it’s even a better deal. On sale now starting at under $23,000.